Control for multiple doors



p 1939- c. N. MITCHELL CONTROL- FOR MULTIPLE DOORS Filed May 29, 193.5

INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFICE 2,153,693 CONTROL FOR MULTIPLE DOORS Courtney N. Mitchell, Strongsville, Ohio Application May 29, 1935, Serial No. 23,975

4 Claims.

This invention relates, as indicated, to a mechanism for controlling. the movement of one door by the movement of another related door and is intended primarily for operating doors) of garages, barns, warehouses and, in some cases,

for operating the doors of furnaces and ventilating systems. It may also apply to the movement of other articles or devices other than doors. In itsusual application, two or more doors are opened simultaneously and closed simultaneously. In others the doors thus interconnected may be made to operate inversely, i. e., one will be closed by the opening movement of another.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a connecting mechanism whereby two doors may be opened or closed in a substantially simultaneous manner. Another object is to provide means whereby the locking of one door automatically brings another door into locked condition. A further object is to provide means whereby one door will automatically hold another door in open position. A still further object is to provide a mechanism of this general class which may readily be adapted to a variety of sizes of doors. Another object is to provide a mechanism which can be adjusted for various desired angular positions of related doors. An additional object is to provide means whereby a door or a pair of doors may be closed and/or opened automatically by the operation of a simple remote connection. Another object is to provide a mechanism of this class which can be manufactured at low cost, shipped in a small container and easily and inexpensively installed.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as the description of the mechanism proceeds, said invention, then consists of the means hereinafter fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing and more specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the said drawing Fig. l is a plan view of the preferred form of my invention as indicated by line i! of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the mechanism as indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the operating shaft consisting of the two members and II joined by the sleeve i2 and having keys I3 and M, is rotatably supported in brackets I5 and I6 which are suspended from the upper door casing ii, the pins i8 holding sleeve and shafts in assembled relationship. Non-rotatably secured to shafts Hi and H are pressed metal levers l9 and 2e. At the outer ends of these levers are the swivel connections 2| to which the hooked connecting links 22 and. 23. are attached. Brackets 2 4 and 25 are attached to doors 26 and 21 and serve as means for connecting the hooked rods 22 and 23 to the doors. As the doors are opened by swinging on hinge centers 28 and 29, the levers t9 and 2G swing downwardly as indicated by the 5 arrow in Fig. 2. The swivels 2! rotate in the levers i9 and 213 and the links or rods 22 and 23 move to the position indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 1 and with the levers extending outwardly as indicated in that figure also. The holes in 10 I brackets 2 and 25 are made with sufficient clearance for the hooked ends of the rods as to permit of the necessary angular movement of these rods relative to the brackets.

The lever 28, being so located on its shaft H as to have an angular lead relative to lever l9 during the opening movement, causes door 2'! to reach its fully opened position somewhat in advance of door When door 21 comes in contact with stop 30, the continued movement of door 26 acting through lever it! causes lever 20 to move upwardly somewhat past the position in which swivel 2%, the bearing in bracket 25 and the center of shaft ii come into the same plane. This movement causes a slight compression or buckling of the rod 23 as the swivel 2| passes the line of centers between bracket 25 and shaft l l and thus produces a condition of stress tending to hold the door firmly in contact with stop 36 and simultaneously holds lever 59 in the position shown by the broken lines of Fig. l and in contact with suitable stop block, or a stop may be arranged as shown at 35 to limit the movement of the door Both doors are thus held firmly in open po-- sition. By changing the ends of hooked rods 22 and 23 to different holes in brackets 24 and 25 various angular positions of doors 26 and 21 may be obtained.

When the doors are thus in open position, they maybe released and closed by pulling downwardly on the cord or chain 32 to reverse the toggle action, and both doors can then be brought toward their closed positions by moving either one of them in a closing direction. As they approach the closed position, door 25 will engage the stop on the door casing first, and a closing force applied to door El will bring lever 26 upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2. This movement of lever 2% acting through shafts H3 and i I will bring lever 5311p to the position also as shown in Fig. 2. This permits of a substantially direct action between shaft it and bracket 24 by bringing the center line or" lever l9 and rod 22 into nearly the same plane. If the point of attachment of bracket 2 is suificiently high on door 26, the rod 22 will pass the line of centers of the shaft and the eye of the lever and the door will be held firmly in its closed position. The strain produced in rod 22 and lever H] by this movement will hold door 21 in the closed position against a moderate opening force due to the tension developed in rod 23 at the time rod 22 snaps past the line of centers of lever H! which takes place at the time, or just before, door 21 reaches its closed position. To provide for a more sensitive adjustment than is attainable by changing the hooked ends of rods 22 and 23 to different holes in brackets 24 and 25, a turnbuckle such as shown at 33, may be employed.

To make the action of the doors automatic in either closing or opening, the torsion spring 34 is placed over shaft II as shown in Fig. 1 with its one end secured to the bracket l6 and its opposite end, in operating relationship with sleeve 12. With the spring arranged as shown, it tends to rotate the shafts l0 and II in the direction indicated by the, arrow in Fig. 2 and thus open the doors. In closing the doors, 1. e., in bringing them to the position shown in Fig. 1, force would be required to wind up the spring and to snap the latch l2 or other fastening means needed to hold the doors in closed position. By releasing the snap latch, which may be done from a remote location by a suitable cord, magnet or other actuating means, this tensioned actuating torsion spring will rotate the shafts l0 and H opening the doors. 2| of lever 20 will pass through the plane of centers of shaft II and bracket 25 bringing the door 21 into pressure contact with the stop block 30 and will thus hold the door in its open position. The doors will then remain open until a. definite closing force is app-lied of sufficient amount to overcome the resistance of the spring 34 and again wind it to its tensioned condition which winding is completed upon again fully closing the doors and engaging the snap latch above mentioned. The doors thus open automatically, but are closed manually.

By providing a second spring sufficiently stronger than spring 34 to not only overcome this latter spring, but also to swing the doors, the closing may also be automatic upon the release of a second holding latch. In this case the second spring is wound up manually or by motor either before or after manually opening the doors, and is held in tensioned condition by any suitable ratchet or clutch. By releasing the second latch from a remote or other location, the second spring closes the doors and winds up the first spring 34, the driving action of the second spring being released as the doors reach their closed positions, preferably by the movement of the spring operated latch which holds the doors closed. Upon releasing the first mentioned latch after the doors are closed, the doors open automatically by means of the first spring "34, the second spring being already released as stated.

- Thus, when applied to a pair of oppositely swinging garage doors, the operator opens the doors manually tensioning spring 34 in so doing, and holds the doors in open position by the application of a suitable latch. He then, by any suitable means such as a ratchet crank, winds up the second or closing spring, which may be placed over shaft l0 and secured to it in tensioned condition by a clutch or holding ratchet. After removing his car from the garage, he releases the second latch by means of a cord or The swivel electric connection from his position in the seat of his car, and the doors close, tensioning spring 34 and releasing the engagement of the second spring upon the snapping of the latch which holds the doors closed. Upon his return to the garage, the operator, from his position in the seat of his car, releases the latch holding the doors closed and the spring 34 immediately opens them. By providing a simple remote control for the latches, it is thus possible for the car operator to drive his car out of the garage and close the garage doors without leaving the seat of his car, and upon returning to the garage, to again open the doors, also without leaving his car. This device is comparatively simple and inexpensive, as it requires no outside power means such as electric current for motor operation or compressed air.

It will be evident that by arranging the levers l9 and 20 at various relative angles different from those heretofore explained, one door can be opened by the closing movement of the other door, or one door may be fully closed by a partial closing movement of the other. It will be evident also that the shafts I0 and H may be extended indefinitely to engage numerous other doors occupying substantially parallel positions, and that universal joints may be employed between parts of such segmental shafts to adapt them to operate simultaneously doors occupying various angular positions relative to each other.

To provide an adjustment other than that obtained by use of the turnbuckle 33, the lever I9 may be made in two parts, the outer or end portion 35 being adjustably attached by means of bolts 36. By this means the length of this lever may be changed as may be required for any desired door movement.

Numerous other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed;

I therefore point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the character described, a door casing, a first door and a second door adapted to cooperate to close a passage thru the door casing, means for stopping an opening movement of the first door in advance of a lull opening movement of the second door, a shaft mounted lever having a connection with the first door and being adapted to overthrow past a dead center position upon a full opening of the said first door, a shaft mounted lever having connection with the said second door and adapted to approach but not to pass a dead center position, the first said lever and its connection with the first door being so formed as to be deflected resiliently upon the overthrow past dead center, and means for limiting the opening movement of the second door.

' 2. In a device of the character described, a

, door casing, a first door and a second door adapted to cooperate to close a passage thru the door casing, means for stopping a closing movement of the first door in advance of a full closing of the second door, a shaft mounted lever having connection with the first door, the said lever being adapted to overthrow past a dead center position upon a full closing of the said first door, a shaft mounted lever having connection with the said second door and being adapted to approach but not to pass a dead center position, the lever and its connection with the first door being so formed as to be deflected resiliently upon the overthrow past dead center, and a resilient member being connected to rotate said shaft so as to cause the shaft mounted lever connected to the second door to recede from the said dead center position and thereby produce an opening movement of said door.

3. In a device of the character described, a door casing, a first door and a second door being adapted to cooperate to close a passage thru the door casing, means for stopping a closing movement of the first door in advance of a closof the second door overthrows past center while the lever of the first door approaches a center position, and the levers and connections therefor being so adjusted that one of the said levers is deflected resiliently.

4. In a device of the character described, a door casing, a first door and a second door being adapted to co-operate to close a passage through the door casing, means for stopping an opening movement of the first door in advance of a full opening movement of the second door, a first lever having a connection with the first door and being adapted to overthrow past a dead center position upon a full opening of the said first door, a shaft supporting the first lever, a second lever having connection with the second door and being adapted to approach but not to pass a dead center position, a shaft supporting the second lever, the first said lever and its connection with the first door being so formed as to be defiected resiliently upon the overthrow past dead center, and means for limiting the opening movement of the second door, the shafts supporting the first and second levers having connecting means, said connecting means being adapted to connect said shafts in a selected longitudinal relationship whereby the aforesaid levers are spaced to join the aforesaid connections with their respective doors.

COURTNEY N. MITCHELL. 

